It failed to grab me when I tried it. Was expecting something incredible, but couldn't be bothered to go beyond the tutorial. Super slow combat that felt really unrewarding? No thanks.
The kiddies above don't understand the handholding nature of most games that were popular for the past ~5 years. If you were on PC then this doesn't apply as much, but you still had plenty of big games that were at least trying to nudge the player in the directions the devs wanted them to go, gating off some areas until the player was ready, or some games were just outright hallway simulators. Also, remember that turret sections were still a popular thing, Spec Ops The Line had a turret section and that came out a year after Dark Souls. Combo that with gameplay and exploration that was different enough at the time (even if it's been done before, it's just that was thought we were """""""""""""""past that era as gamers"""""""""""""") to feel difficult and also the foundation laying the Demon Souls did and you have a gaming icon in your hands that people will talk about for another generation to come.
Dark Souls unironically saved gaming. I remember being so ridiculously hype about this game in 2010 and reading the Edge magazine preview with bated breath. Getting my Xbox 360 copy in the post was like getting some mad ritual object from a lost age. It truly was a "you had to be there" moment and everybody who pisses on FromSoft are only reacting to the influence of the original game, which was and is a masterpiece in game design, I don't give a frick what any Gankeraggots have to say to the contrary.
I remember being hype for the PC port. I remember consolegays hyping it up as the second coming of vidya Christ. I remember pirating it as soon as it came out because I was a dirt-poor college student with an alcohol addiction.
And then it turned out to be an OK-at-best aRPG with THE WORST PC PORT in the history of video games. Imagine my disappointment.
>which was and is a masterpiece in game design
Absolutely correct.
Real shame FromSoft abandoned the worldbuilding and level design just to turn it into a ZANZISHART FORGIVE ME shitfest.
The first playthrough of Dark Souls 1 is a once in a lifetime adventure.
it's not really their fault, they were just a victim of their own success and open-world meme. In a better world, Miyazaki would have explored other avenues, but he got pulled back into making Dark Souls-lite for the masses.
For me it was knowing that a hostile player could show up at any time raised the level of risk in the gameplay cycle by a huge margin. Too bad the sequels changed that completely.
Because it was proper video game in an era where they no longer existed. It flew in the face of all the conventions the industry was pushing and excelled. That combined with the cult success of DeS turned into a firestorm.
for the first 10% played it because of DeS being a cult classic, the other 90% played it because of it's meme status as "the hardest game ever"
oh man it is so fricking hard to roll inbetween swings when the enemy tries to hit you
>so fricking hard to roll inbetween swings when the enemy tries to hit you
It is if you don't know what i-frames are, which most normal Black folk don't.
The thing of it is, Dark Souls is a game that requires you to understand the mechanics and pay attention to your surroundings/positioning. It's not an alien concept but none of the big games from the same era were doing that, and in fact the industry was trying to get away from that.
Blocking is really strong in Dark Souls as well the only time you'd be convinced otherwise is if you select the master key and get flattened by Havel the rock.
Vanilla DS1 can be cheesed with shield easily. DS1 Heater Shield is one of the most OP shield in any Souls game ever. Light, fast parry, 100% physical dmg reduction, decent stability rating. Only starting in the DLC with the bosses being wombo combo c**ts like Artorias and Anus you might have to start rolling.
A proper third person fantasy action rpg without walls of text and hours of talking. When casuals gave it a spin they got pulverized and told everyone it was a hard game.
It came out at the peak of linear movieshit cod clones that handhold you the entire time. It was a breath of fresh air to play a game that just set you on your way after about 5 lines of dialog and wasn't afraid to actually let the player die and make mistakes now and again.
The combat and the world. It's something so difficult to reproduce even FROMSOFT can't do it. It's why DeS and DS1 fans have difficulty appreciating the later titles.
I never grew up playing the Dark Souls series but after playing Elden Ring (and 100% all the achievements) I bought the remastered Dark Souls game and I have to say it is a product of its time and it is riddled with nostalgia-lenses for why people praise it. I got to the Double Gargoyles and I just quit. The controls are horrible and janky, the graphics and enemy design are lackluster. Maybe Elden Ring was just spoiled it for me.
THE HARDEST GAME EVER MADE and then people played it and found it was actually fine and was just an alright game
I hate how people made the game out to be about difficulty and not challenge.
Everyone sucks at games but me.
>PREPARE TO DIE EDITION
"dark souls difficulty" becoming a viral meme on reddit, that's all
Infamy by being considered a difficult but fun game.
In hindsight it's not THAT hard, but at the time most games were just piss easy.
youtubers
It failed to grab me when I tried it. Was expecting something incredible, but couldn't be bothered to go beyond the tutorial. Super slow combat that felt really unrewarding? No thanks.
Demon Souls?
The craze built up from Demon's Souls.
Bare minimum pretense of respect for player
The kiddies above don't understand the handholding nature of most games that were popular for the past ~5 years. If you were on PC then this doesn't apply as much, but you still had plenty of big games that were at least trying to nudge the player in the directions the devs wanted them to go, gating off some areas until the player was ready, or some games were just outright hallway simulators. Also, remember that turret sections were still a popular thing, Spec Ops The Line had a turret section and that came out a year after Dark Souls. Combo that with gameplay and exploration that was different enough at the time (even if it's been done before, it's just that was thought we were """""""""""""""past that era as gamers"""""""""""""") to feel difficult and also the foundation laying the Demon Souls did and you have a gaming icon in your hands that people will talk about for another generation to come.
>The kiddies above don't understand the handholding nature of most games that were popular for the past ~5 years
This was debunked several times.
It was rebunked, actually.
Dark Souls unironically saved gaming. I remember being so ridiculously hype about this game in 2010 and reading the Edge magazine preview with bated breath. Getting my Xbox 360 copy in the post was like getting some mad ritual object from a lost age. It truly was a "you had to be there" moment and everybody who pisses on FromSoft are only reacting to the influence of the original game, which was and is a masterpiece in game design, I don't give a frick what any Gankeraggots have to say to the contrary.
I remember being hype for the PC port. I remember consolegays hyping it up as the second coming of vidya Christ. I remember pirating it as soon as it came out because I was a dirt-poor college student with an alcohol addiction.
And then it turned out to be an OK-at-best aRPG with THE WORST PC PORT in the history of video games. Imagine my disappointment.
>which was and is a masterpiece in game design
Absolutely correct.
Real shame FromSoft abandoned the worldbuilding and level design just to turn it into a ZANZISHART FORGIVE ME shitfest.
The first playthrough of Dark Souls 1 is a once in a lifetime adventure.
it's not really their fault, they were just a victim of their own success and open-world meme. In a better world, Miyazaki would have explored other avenues, but he got pulled back into making Dark Souls-lite for the masses.
my fren who said it was like diablo
it wasnt like diablo
For me it was knowing that a hostile player could show up at any time raised the level of risk in the gameplay cycle by a huge margin. Too bad the sequels changed that completely.
Just stay hollow.
Never did.
you have to go out of your way to be invadable
You've got it wrong I'm answering the question what drew me in. That drew me in.
*Tips fedora
This. I cannot fricking believe they ruined this in all the sequels.
Because it was proper video game in an era where they no longer existed. It flew in the face of all the conventions the industry was pushing and excelled. That combined with the cult success of DeS turned into a firestorm.
Finally a good rpg again without endless bullshit dialogues.
Just fun gameplay with a comfy atmosphere.
for the first 10% played it because of DeS being a cult classic, the other 90% played it because of it's meme status as "the hardest game ever"
oh man it is so fricking hard to roll inbetween swings when the enemy tries to hit you
>so fricking hard to roll inbetween swings when the enemy tries to hit you
It is if you don't know what i-frames are, which most normal Black folk don't.
The thing of it is, Dark Souls is a game that requires you to understand the mechanics and pay attention to your surroundings/positioning. It's not an alien concept but none of the big games from the same era were doing that, and in fact the industry was trying to get away from that.
Blocking is really strong in Dark Souls as well the only time you'd be convinced otherwise is if you select the master key and get flattened by Havel the rock.
Vanilla DS1 can be cheesed with shield easily. DS1 Heater Shield is one of the most OP shield in any Souls game ever. Light, fast parry, 100% physical dmg reduction, decent stability rating. Only starting in the DLC with the bosses being wombo combo c**ts like Artorias and Anus you might have to start rolling.
for me it's the atmopshere and sense of discovery
A proper third person fantasy action rpg without walls of text and hours of talking. When casuals gave it a spin they got pulverized and told everyone it was a hard game.
it was made before your kind, you will never get it
xbots getting their first taste of souls
"big boy" gamers acceptance
It came out at the peak of linear movieshit cod clones that handhold you the entire time. It was a breath of fresh air to play a game that just set you on your way after about 5 lines of dialog and wasn't afraid to actually let the player die and make mistakes now and again.
How do people replay this game so much knowing what comes after Anor Londo?
By that time you're more or less done with your build and can streamroll the lords easily. Also DLC bosses are great.
I wanted the cheevos that require about 6 runs but then I remembered that I was playing dark souls and gave up halfway through the second run.
peer pressure
The combat and the world. It's something so difficult to reproduce even FROMSOFT can't do it. It's why DeS and DS1 fans have difficulty appreciating the later titles.
I never grew up playing the Dark Souls series but after playing Elden Ring (and 100% all the achievements) I bought the remastered Dark Souls game and I have to say it is a product of its time and it is riddled with nostalgia-lenses for why people praise it. I got to the Double Gargoyles and I just quit. The controls are horrible and janky, the graphics and enemy design are lackluster. Maybe Elden Ring was just spoiled it for me.
Sad.